Swim More For Joy
Donation protected
Fuck. Cancer.
Sometimes we feel so helpless to help the people who never ask for help, but are so deserving of it.
We're currently living in a climate that has so much that needs changing and fixing. Too much changing and fixing. I wanted to try something to contribute to a fix towards one thing.
A lot of you will already know the story of my friend Joy. Last year we raised over $2500 for her during her battle with Stage 4 gastric cancer. Her diagnosis came last June, when she was just 34 years old. She fought so hard. Please know that it meant more than words can say that so many of you contributed to help her.
Joy and her husband Stephen helped me in so many ways. They helped me build a credit score when I couldn't afford to get a secure credit card. Joy paid for MY hospital bill when I couldn't afford it last year. She and Stephen were the first to the ER, for my very lame broken nose. Joy's name was not a coincidence. I've never known anyone like her.
Joy passed away in February. The battle was shorter than we expected, but she was resilient every single step of the way. She continued to help me through my own mental battles, whilst she fought her own. In fact, I've never seen anyone care so much about OTHER people, when she had a far worse battle of her own. But that's just who Joy was. Joy was also a writer. An amazing one. It makes me so happy that she was able to see me go to a place that wants to help writers every day before she passed. You can read more about that story last year if you wish:
https://www.gofundme.com/swim-for-joy?fbclid=IwAR2SUC-ocPb2shK-TxOV29S1-ChoB_GFp3BOD49vi_txiQHegImxzeR99eM
We lost Joy in February this year. Heartbroken doesn't even begin to describe it. How can you ever feel ok knowing that you lost someone who was one of your most reliable, kind, and relentlessly supportive friends? The person who helped me build my credit score when I couldn't afford it. The person who came to my aid when I needed someone with me at the ER on a Saturday night at 7PM. The person who always gave me harsh truths because she knew I was better than I was allowing myself to accept from others. Joy left behind her friends, family, and her loving husband Stephen. They met in 2004. 15 years.
The same week that Joy passed, my coworkers close friend also passed from cancer. We all know too many people affected by this. Too many families affected. Too many hearts broken every day. We know how hard it is to get ahead of. And how hard it is to cure it. But Joy is the type of person to always make me want to try, no matter what.
Sometimes it doesn't feel like we can do anything. I feel so helpless to this situation every single day. So here is my way of trying to do the bare minimum:
Over the next 4 weeks, I will compete in 4 different Swims For Joy.
August 24th - Alcatraz
August 31st - Maui Channel
September 2nd - Waikiki Roughwater
Sept 14th - Malibu Tri Relay Swim
I would like to raise as many donations as possible to donate between three different organizations.
One is the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center in Melbourne, Australia. This was the organization Joy wanted any donations to go to.
https://www.petermac.org/about
Peter MaCullum Cancer Center is one of the world’s leading cancer research, education and treatment centers globally and is Australia’s only public hospital solely dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer. We have over 2,500 staff, including more than 580 laboratory and clinical researchers, all focused on providing better treatments, better care and potential cures for cancer.
The second is Team TBG here in the USA. This is also because the Malibu Tri Relay is a different kind of swim. I am doing the swim for a team of breast cancer survivors.
https://teamtbg.com/
Team TBG is a group of courageous Breast Cancer survivors and previvors affectionately referred to as “The Breast Goddesses”- “TBG”. These are women warriors who aspire to rebuild and embrace their new body and want to prove how strong they are after battling surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Team TBG empowers and instills self-confidence in women who want to overcome their physical and emotional challenges by giving them the opportunity to get back out there and participate in fun and physical activities in a group setting and at their own pace. From Get-Togethers at the beach, to Stand Up Paddling events, Charity Walks, Fun Runs and Relay Triathlons - Team TBG wants these women to feel strong and beautiful in their new bodies and, in turn, positively inspire others who have been on a similar journey.
The third is for the American Cancer Society. My coworker lost her friend to cervical cancer. Other friends of mine have lost family members and friends to cancer battles.
https://www.cancer.org/
At the American Cancer Society, we're on a mission to free the world from cancer. Until we do, we'll be funding and conducting research, sharing expert information, supporting patients, and spreading the word about prevention. All so you can live longer — and better.
Can you go without one coffee this week? Can you afford to give up one sandwich you buy out? Even the tiniest donation will never go unnoticed and unthanked.
I want to earn these donations through these swims. I've been training, and I want to make good times on all these swims, for Joy. She was one of the biggest champions of my swimming. It will not be easy doing them back to back, but it's sure as hell easier than anything any one of these patients and their families have ever had to go through.
If you can donate, thank you. If you can't, if you can even help spread this link, any little bit helps. All I want to do is to be able to make any sort of difference to one of the most fucked up situations people face.
Fuck Cancer.
Swim For Joy.
https://www.gofundme.com/swim-for-joy?fbclid=IwAR2SUC-ocPb2shK-TxOV29S1-ChoB_GFp3BOD49vi_txiQHegImxzeR99eM
Sometimes we feel so helpless to help the people who never ask for help, but are so deserving of it.
We're currently living in a climate that has so much that needs changing and fixing. Too much changing and fixing. I wanted to try something to contribute to a fix towards one thing.
A lot of you will already know the story of my friend Joy. Last year we raised over $2500 for her during her battle with Stage 4 gastric cancer. Her diagnosis came last June, when she was just 34 years old. She fought so hard. Please know that it meant more than words can say that so many of you contributed to help her.
Joy and her husband Stephen helped me in so many ways. They helped me build a credit score when I couldn't afford to get a secure credit card. Joy paid for MY hospital bill when I couldn't afford it last year. She and Stephen were the first to the ER, for my very lame broken nose. Joy's name was not a coincidence. I've never known anyone like her.
Joy passed away in February. The battle was shorter than we expected, but she was resilient every single step of the way. She continued to help me through my own mental battles, whilst she fought her own. In fact, I've never seen anyone care so much about OTHER people, when she had a far worse battle of her own. But that's just who Joy was. Joy was also a writer. An amazing one. It makes me so happy that she was able to see me go to a place that wants to help writers every day before she passed. You can read more about that story last year if you wish:
https://www.gofundme.com/swim-for-joy?fbclid=IwAR2SUC-ocPb2shK-TxOV29S1-ChoB_GFp3BOD49vi_txiQHegImxzeR99eM
We lost Joy in February this year. Heartbroken doesn't even begin to describe it. How can you ever feel ok knowing that you lost someone who was one of your most reliable, kind, and relentlessly supportive friends? The person who helped me build my credit score when I couldn't afford it. The person who came to my aid when I needed someone with me at the ER on a Saturday night at 7PM. The person who always gave me harsh truths because she knew I was better than I was allowing myself to accept from others. Joy left behind her friends, family, and her loving husband Stephen. They met in 2004. 15 years.
The same week that Joy passed, my coworkers close friend also passed from cancer. We all know too many people affected by this. Too many families affected. Too many hearts broken every day. We know how hard it is to get ahead of. And how hard it is to cure it. But Joy is the type of person to always make me want to try, no matter what.
Sometimes it doesn't feel like we can do anything. I feel so helpless to this situation every single day. So here is my way of trying to do the bare minimum:
Over the next 4 weeks, I will compete in 4 different Swims For Joy.
August 24th - Alcatraz
August 31st - Maui Channel
September 2nd - Waikiki Roughwater
Sept 14th - Malibu Tri Relay Swim
I would like to raise as many donations as possible to donate between three different organizations.
One is the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center in Melbourne, Australia. This was the organization Joy wanted any donations to go to.
https://www.petermac.org/about
Peter MaCullum Cancer Center is one of the world’s leading cancer research, education and treatment centers globally and is Australia’s only public hospital solely dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer. We have over 2,500 staff, including more than 580 laboratory and clinical researchers, all focused on providing better treatments, better care and potential cures for cancer.
The second is Team TBG here in the USA. This is also because the Malibu Tri Relay is a different kind of swim. I am doing the swim for a team of breast cancer survivors.
https://teamtbg.com/
Team TBG is a group of courageous Breast Cancer survivors and previvors affectionately referred to as “The Breast Goddesses”- “TBG”. These are women warriors who aspire to rebuild and embrace their new body and want to prove how strong they are after battling surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Team TBG empowers and instills self-confidence in women who want to overcome their physical and emotional challenges by giving them the opportunity to get back out there and participate in fun and physical activities in a group setting and at their own pace. From Get-Togethers at the beach, to Stand Up Paddling events, Charity Walks, Fun Runs and Relay Triathlons - Team TBG wants these women to feel strong and beautiful in their new bodies and, in turn, positively inspire others who have been on a similar journey.
The third is for the American Cancer Society. My coworker lost her friend to cervical cancer. Other friends of mine have lost family members and friends to cancer battles.
https://www.cancer.org/
At the American Cancer Society, we're on a mission to free the world from cancer. Until we do, we'll be funding and conducting research, sharing expert information, supporting patients, and spreading the word about prevention. All so you can live longer — and better.
Can you go without one coffee this week? Can you afford to give up one sandwich you buy out? Even the tiniest donation will never go unnoticed and unthanked.
I want to earn these donations through these swims. I've been training, and I want to make good times on all these swims, for Joy. She was one of the biggest champions of my swimming. It will not be easy doing them back to back, but it's sure as hell easier than anything any one of these patients and their families have ever had to go through.
If you can donate, thank you. If you can't, if you can even help spread this link, any little bit helps. All I want to do is to be able to make any sort of difference to one of the most fucked up situations people face.
Fuck Cancer.
Swim For Joy.
https://www.gofundme.com/swim-for-joy?fbclid=IwAR2SUC-ocPb2shK-TxOV29S1-ChoB_GFp3BOD49vi_txiQHegImxzeR99eM
Organizer
Deb Jourdain
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA